An excerpt from The T'shuvah Experience with Rabbi Dr. Khannah Josué and Bishop Veron Ashe

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In one of the most compelling conversations from The T’shuvah Experience TV Show, Rabbi Dr. Khannah Josué sits down with the late Bishop Veron Ashe, Zekher Tzadik Livrakha (May the memory of the righteous be a blessing). As Chairman of the Board for the former Torah Study University, now known as the Hebraic Torah Study Program under PFYI, Bishop Ashe shares profound insights on scripture, context, and the necessity of pursuing Elohim beyond our denominational frameworks. This post is more than just a reflection; it is a call to every believer to return to the awe of the Word and the depth of Torah.

Honoring the Word: From Admiration to Transformation

 

Rabbi Josué opens with heartfelt admiration for Bishop Ashe, expressing how sitting under his teaching is an experience that penetrates the soul, not wounding, but awakening. She recalls a past teaching that felt like sparks of glass in the air, painful, yet deeply transformative. This moment set the tone for a conversation rich in revelation and reverence.

 

Understanding Scripture in Its Original Context

 

Bishop Ashe begins by emphasizing a foundational truth:

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    You can never interpret a text, whether historical, literary, or theological, out of the context of the people it      was originally written to.

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Many interpret scripture through a modern Western lens, which often strips it of its Hebraic depth. He illustrates this with a modern idiom, “born with a silver spoon”, and how its meaning would be misunderstood outside of its cultural context. The same applies to scripture. Torah must be studied from the Jewish perspective, because while it is for us, it was originally spoken to them.

 

Language, Intimacy, and the Covenant

 

Quoting Archbishop Wilbert McKinley, Bishop Ashe warns:

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    To study the scriptures without understanding their original language is like sleeping with a woman and        never asking her name.

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It's a stark metaphor to drive home the point: true intimacy with the Word requires more than surface-level reading, it demands a pursuit of understanding, reverence, and relationship.

 

Daily Bread: Why Yesterday's Manna Won’t Feed You Today

 

He reflects on “Give us this day our daily bread,” linking it to the wilderness journey where Elohim provided manna daily.

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    What fed us yesterday cannot feed us today.

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This speaks to a spiritual hunger, a need to seek fresh revelation daily. Without consistent engagement, we risk building our beliefs on stale understanding.

 

Study is Not Optional

 

While formal degrees may not be required in ministry, Bishop Ashe argues that education is.

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    To just open the Bible and read it in English means you're missing something.

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True love for Elohim compels us to study deeper. Casual acquaintance with scripture is not enough, we must long to know Him beyond the surface.

 

Hearing the Voice of God in All Things

 

He unpacks a misunderstood verse:

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    In the last days, there shall be a famine, not of bread or water, but for the hearing of the Word of Elohim.

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It’s not that Elohim isn’t speaking, it’s that we’re not listening. His voice speaks through:

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• Culture

• Science

• The poor and the hungry

• Music and art

• The earth and the heavens

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The true school of the prophets doesn’t teach performance. It trains the ear to hear.

 

The Call to the Mountain

 

Using imagery from Song of Solomon, Bishop Ashe reflects on the bride refusing to climb the mountains of myrrh and frankincense, places of spiritual struggle and Apostolic engagement. Her refusal represents a larger truth:

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    We want to be saved, but not at the expense of our comfort.

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And when we decline Elohim's invitation to deeper things, we risk waking up and discovering He has moved on to the next generation.

 

Reverence for the Word

 

Though many Jewish rabbis have not accepted Yeshua as Messiah, they hold a profound reverence for the Word. Bishop Ashe notes that even Jesus quoted the Talmud, saying:

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    Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst.

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The rabbis teach: Wherever two or three study Torah, the Shekhinah is present.

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The Shekhinah, the visible glory of Elohim, is not in a building. It is with us, here and now.

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